THE TRUE STORY OF THE HELLGATE TREATY COUNCIL
July 16th will mark the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Hellgate Treaty between the Salish, Pend'd Orielle and Kootenai nations, and the United States.
The treaty council, which began July 9,1855, involved seven days of hard bargaining before an agreement could be reached. The final 12 articles of agreement between the U. S. and the tribes were transcribed in English from interpretations of the negotiations by recorder James Doty. Doty's notes on the conference show that there was considerable disagreement and some bitter-
ness between the head chiefs of the tribes over the issue of land cession and the location of a final reservation. The minutes of the conference also indicate that some difference of opinion existed between the chief's interpretation of the final reservation provision and what was stated in Article XII by Stevens.
The "clincher" article in the treaty, which caused most of the heat during that long week on the Clark Fork River west of Missoula, states that: "It is more-over provided that the Bitterroot Val-
ley above the (Lolo) Fork shall be carefully surveyed and examined, and if it shall prove in the judgement of the President (of the U.S.) to be better adopted to the wants of the Flathead Tribe than the general reservation (Flathead Reservation) provided for in this Treaty, then such portions of it as many be necessary shall be set apart as a separate Reservation for the said tribe. No portion of the Bitterroot Valley above the Lolo Fork shall be opened to settlement until such examination is made and the decision of the President made
TROUBLED RESERVATION WATERS
PESTICIDES FOUND IN JOCKO FISH
St.Ignatius: Sizable levels of pesticides have been found in trout eggs from the Jocko River drainage, according to the Indian Health Service in St. Ignatius.
Bill Durgeloh, an IHS sanitarian, said that trout from a Jocko river fed pond contained traces of DDE and DDD...both breakdown elements of DDT. Durgeloh said the pesticides were discovered by the Denver Wildlife Research Center of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in samples sent by the St. Ignatius IHS center.
The analysis showed that eggs from three rainbow trout JOCKO FISH (Turn to page 3)
BIA IRRIGATION CLEARS USE OF XYLENE ON RESERVATION
Dixon: The BIA Area Irrigation Office has completed a 60-odd page environmental impact assessment which claims that the deadly poison exylene will not "significantly" harm reservation fish and wildlife. But the Tribal Council does not agree with these findings and will seek an independent examination of the document
The issue is whether or not the Flathead Irrigation Program (FIP), which is administered by Area BIA Irrigation, should be allowed to use the fish and water life killing herbicide in canals and ditches on the reservation. FIP has been using Xylene for the past several years to
rid waterways of moss and algea. The poison was responsible for the July, 1973 fish kill in the Ravalli "J" Canal and "probable" damage to the lower Jocko River and the Flathead River. The poison was used again in 1974 and the environmental assessment opens the way for its continued use on the reservation.
Councilman Tom "Bear-head" Swaney, St. Ignatius, called the assessment a "whitewash" during a meeting June 20. He said that Area Irrigation could not be trusted to protect tribal hunting and fishing treaty rights because of "a conflict of interest" in matters involving the admin-XYLENE (See page 13)
known".
In a letter drafted the same day as the treaty was signed, Stevens explains the unusual treaty provision to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: "Much difficulty was experienced in bringing the Tribes on to one Reservation in | consequence of the dislike of ! the Flatheads to Mission (St. Ignatius) establishments. Victor finally made a proposition ¦ in council today, which I j accepted, providing for the survey of the Bitterroot Valley above the Lolo Fork, and TREATY (Cont. on page 7)
TRIBE BUYS JOCKO
LAND
Arlee: A critical tract of land on the upper Jocko... the beautiful Eva Paul allotment...will become tribal land July 15.
The 454 acres of rolling foothills along the lower northfork has long been regarded as a key tract in the Jocko prairie area. The Tribal Council has been negotiating for the recovery of the land for several years.
During a meeting with a-gent Ralph Cross, May 20, the council agreed to buy the land for $185,000. The price comes to $407.49 per acre.
Final transfer of the land was delayed pending a review of the title to assure that ownership entanglements would not interfere with placing the land into trust status for the tribe. The title was cleared late last month paving the way for tribal ownership.
It had been feared that real estate interests could develop the land into a subdivision. This would have placed as many as 22 residents on the upper Jocko and could have affected the water quality and game management of the area.